Hajimari
When Noel first met Lightning in the turbulent space of Valhalla, he was a little bit surprised and phenomenally relieved. Even in her unending battle she was a sight for sore eyes—another human being! He didn't have much time to reflect on the absurd circumstances before he was charged with Lightning's request and sent floating back through time.
When Noel first met Serah in the turbulent space of New Bodhum, he was phenomenally surprised and a little bit relieved. He'd found the right time and place, and he was sure Lightning had a hand to play in that, or maybe Etro herself, and there she was, Serah. What surprised him, however, was the amount of people.
Sure, they were fighting for their lives amongst the monsters wrought by his time-rending arrival, but there were so many living people. Noel was eighteen and a little disheartened that he couldn't even really remember a time when he'd seen so many people, so used to the company of Caius and Yeul in a world as dead as Cocoon. There had once been people in his time, in the future, but one by one his village had dwindled down to only himself wavering on the edge of miserable death and miserable existence.
Living people all around—this was the kind of world he wanted the future to be like. It would be damn worth it, all this tangoing with the time line, if Yeul could be reborn in a world with many smiling, happy people. Maybe Yeul would be reborn in this little seaside town somewhere along that line, playing with all the bushy-tailed cats and playing tag in the white sands.
Noel grinned when he introduced Mog to Serah. This is it, he thought. This is the beginning of our journey, and I'll stake my life on it for not only Yeul, but for everyone. It's time to shape the future.